Gone for ever a forest in Sabah.

Large area of forest in Sabah where logging and oil palm plantations have consumed vast expanses of highly biodiverse tropical rainforest over the past decades.

Oil Palm Environment

Palm oil plantation  has been heavily criticized for being main cause of high rate of deforestation in South Asia.

Increasingly, there is recognition worldwide of the necessity to reconcile agriculture practices with the need for environmental conservation. Ensuring that agricultural operations do not damage the environment also, in the long-term, contributes to the sustainability of cropping systems.

In several areas, environmental considerations are already well catered for. These include the minimum use of chemicals, the adoption of integrated pest management, judicious use of inorganic fertilizer, recycling of palm biomass within the plantation and between mill and plantation, zero-burning practice on clearance, and soil conservation measures. Examples of the latter including terracing of hilly areas, construction of drains and preservation of natural watercourses, use of silt pits and of cut fronds across slopes to minimize erosion and runoff.

The use of beneficial plants, such as Cassia cobanensis and Euphorbia heterophylla, as sources of nectar for parasitoids, is being widely adopted by plantations to keep populations of oil palm insect pests in balance with nature (Basri and Norman, 2000). This has led to a reduction in the use of insecticides for bagworm and nettle caterpillar control.

Several features of an oil palm plantation resemble those of the natural forest cover that it often replaces. As a perennial tree crop oil palm, at least from the seventh or eighth year onward, provides a continuous and dense canopy cover and also recycles nutrients and organic matter within the ecosystem. Unlike most other oil crops, little or no tillage is involved in its cultivation which minimizes the oxidation and loss of organic matter which may otherwise occur. The canopy not only provides protection to the soil from the worst impacts of heavy rainfall, it also increases humidity while reducing air and soil surface temperatures, all factors which go towards providing a favorable microclimate for many co-existing species.

Environmental considerations are equally important in the processing sector of the industry. Legislation imposes limits to the nature and amounts of discharges to the atmosphere and waterways by mills and refineries. However, mill ‘waste’ products, which were once viewed as embarrassing liabilities are now viewed as co-products of increasing potential value. In addition to EFB and palm oil mill effluent (POME) as nutrient sources in the plantation, the use of excess fibers in manufacturing, the recovery of POME solid for animal protein, the generation of biogas from the effluent ponds and use of surplus boiler energy to generate electricity, are further examples, all of which serve to promote a ‘zero-waste’ concept. Current effort on R&D at MPOB is to minimize the production of greenhouse gasses (GHG) and all existing practices in the field, mill and refinery are being examined. Reduction of GHG will assist in slowing down of climate change.